The Structural Funds are the financial instruments of with which European Union contributes to the harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activity, to a high degree of competitiveness, to high levels of employment and protection of the environment, and to equality between women and men.
The general principle of economic and social cohesion is established in the the Treaty of Amsterdam (pdf, 352 kb - art. 158) (IT) and in the Article 1 of the general Regulation on the Structural Funds (EC Regulation No. 1260/1999 - pdf, 224 kb).
The programming of the actions for social and economic cohesion among all the regions of the Member States, especially to promote structural adjustment of the lagging-behind regions, is pluri-annual.
Concentration has been increased by reducing the number of Objectives from 7 (1994-1999 programming period) to 3 priority Objectives.
objective 1
promotes the development and structural adjustment of regions whose development is lagging behind
objective 2
contributes to the economic and social conversion of regions in structural difficulties other than those eligible for the new Objective 1
objective 3
serves as a reference framework for all measures to promote human resources in the Member States. It takes account of the Title on employment in the Treaty of Amsterdam and the new European strategy for employment, promotes the development of policy systems for education, training and employment
Regions eligible under Objective 1
The geographic regions eligible under Objective 1 for 2000-2006 programming period are regions where the GDP per head is at or below 75% of the Community average.
The GDP is calculated according to the purchase-power standards on the data available on 26 March 1999 (EC Regulation No. 1260/99, article 3).
The Italian regions eligible under Objective 1 are Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, Sardegna e Sicilia. The region Molise shall continue to receive support from the Funds under Objective 1 on a transitional basis (phasing out area).
For 2000-2006 programming period the financial instruments of the European Union for the Objective 1 are the following:
the Structural Funds
ESF:
the European Social Fund ERDF: the European Regional Development Fund EAGGF:
the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
FIFG: the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance
Eligible areas for the Cohesion Fund are the least prosperous member states of the Union whose gross national product (GNP) per capita is below 90% of the EU-average
(since 1° May 2004 Greece, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia).
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is another, and not the only, European Union's financing institution contributing to the achievement of Objective 1 main aims.
Objective 1
